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A team of surgeons at the Government Children’s Hospital in Faisalabad successfully operated on a 10-day-old girl on Wednesday to remove excess brain tissue protruding from an opening in her skull.
The infant, Bibi Rahal, was diagnosed with a rare congenital condition known as encephalocele, characterized by a sac-like protrusion of brain tissue. Hospital officials noted that the baby had two fully developed brains.
“The child had an exceptionally large occipital encephalocele,” said pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Faisal Feroze Rana, who led the procedure. “We managed to repair it and preserve the cerebellum.” According to Dr. Rana, the encephalocele was nearly four times the size of the child’s head.
Encephalocele is a rare neural tube defect affecting the brain, as explained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It occurs when the neural tube, responsible for forming the early brain and spine, fails to close entirely during early pregnancy, resulting in a sac-like protrusion of brain tissue through an opening in the skull. This opening can appear along the skull’s center, from the nose to the back of the neck.
“This surgery highlights the exceptional skill and dedication of our medical team,” Dr. Rana added. “We are thrilled to give this young girl a chance for a healthy life.”
